Christchurch, Oct. 22 -- India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl first against New Zealand in the opening T20I of the five-match series at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday, with pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar set to make his first international appearance since 2022.

After winning the toss, captain Shreyas Iyer said India will bowl first, citing the quick turnaround after the West Indies series and the need to assess the pitch conditions. He highlighted the positives from the batting in the previous series, acknowledged the challenges faced by the bowlers, and confirmed that Nitish Reddy and Mayank Yadav would feature in the playing 11.

"We'll bowl first. Quick turnaround, got to see how the wicket will play. Pretty ...